Underwater compound



106. COMPOSITIONS, ,coAime R PLASTIC.

' EXAM Patentedlt'lay 6, 1941 UNDERWATER COMPOUND John B. Arpin, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., assignor to Beach Erosion Control Company, MiamiBeach, Fla., a corporation of Florida No Drawing.

Application July 16, 1937,

Serial No. 153,942

6 Claims.

The invention relates to a compound adapted for use in underwater work as a mortar or concrete, and particularly the latter; in which case it is mixed with an aggregate of suitable character such as sand and rock. when"'completely set is very good and sufiicient In the buildingof underwater structures confor practically all purposes of normal underditions are encountered which do not exist in water construction. When initially immersed in ordinary construction work. A primary difiithe water it possesses a stickiness sufficient to culty is the washing action of the water. To meet withstand any wave action or water currents to this it is necessary that the fresh mortar or con 10 which it would normally be subjected without crete be sufiiciently resistant to such washing acsubstantial erosion. Such a mixture loses its tion as to prevent any substantial amount of disstickiness after about three hours but will mainintegration during the period of time required tain its bond and in twenty-four hours will have for it to a t in a s t c pable of withstanding set to a degree of resisting fully all wave wash fully the erosion of the water. short of the most extreme.

I have found that an intimate mixture of Port- 4 A mixture of the above character and within lgg cen ent and ordinary fire clay associated in the range of proportions noted has been found certain proportions noted Hereinafter possesses to possess properties of adhesion and cohesion to characteristics rendering it exceptionally well a high degree, both as between the particles of adapted for the purpose. It has the additional the compound itself and with respect to aggremarked advantage of being economical, since it is gates and also steel and like materials with readily obtainable in many localities and in view. which a mortar or concrete is normally assoof its relatively low cost the large quantities in ciated. which it is used for the purpose specified intro- Despite the fact that the fresh mortar. or conduces no difficulty. Further advantages and crete as thoroughly mixed with water possesses characteristics will be noted hereinafter in the a stickiness to such a degree, the operationof more detailed description, or will be apparent mixing can be performed in an ordinary concrete from a consideration of the invention'as a whole. mixer without balling up. The mortar can be The invention accordingly comprises a .compomade still enough to stand up on a quite moderate sition of matter possessing the characteristics, slope without slumping, and accordingly enables properties and the relation of constituents which it use in many cases without the necessity of will be exemplified in the composition hereinaftresorting to retaining forms. The'compound is er described n the Scope of the application of useful as a construction material per se, or mixed" which will be indicated in the claims. with a re ate as a concrete. or as a mortar be- In producing my compound the proportions of tween s ones or pre-cast blocks, for example. the ingredients will vary somewhat dependent In the use of my underwater compound in a p h characteristics 1 p operties most deconcrete the amount and character of the aggresired for the particular se n r con i eration gate will depend largely upon the conditions of n en r l. increased proportions of fire clay use and the aggregate available. I have found, relative to the Portland cement will result in 40 however, that a highly satisfactory concrete for increased stickiness and resistance to erosion ungeneral purposes may be made in the followingder the action of water waves. Too great a proproportions,,-referring in this case to volume: 1 portion of fire clay, however, will reduce the ordinary size; sack of Portland cement comprising ultimate tensile and compressive strength to an 1 portion; 2% port ons o sand; portions of undesired degree. It has been found in this rerock and 1 portion of fire cm the preparagard that strength is roughly directly proportion, the cement, fire clay and sand should be tional to the percentage of cement employed. thoroughly mixed dry, and then the M added,

Through numerous experiments I have found and thereafter therock. that for practical purposes it is necessary for r If desired a small amount of ordinary sodiu the fire clay to be kept within the range of about 0 bdcar fi bo at&may be added to hasten somewfia 30% to 60% by weight and the Portland cement t e setting. In the above example 8 ounces 1 correspondingly within the range of 0 to sufficient for this purpose.

The above percentages refer, of course, to the compound or mortar exclusive of any other ingredients such as the aggregate employed in underwater concrete work. As a specific example, an excellent mixture for general purposes may comprise 45% of fire clay and 55% Portland cement. In such'proporti ons the strength An admixture containing a slightly less proportion of fire clay has been successfully used comprising in this case the use of 30 lbs. of fire clay in a concrete mixture containing 100 lbs. of cement.

Since certain changes may be made in the above product and difierent embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from its scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An underwater cementitious compound capable of use in an exposed manner under water, comprising an intimate mixture of sand, cement and fire clay, said ingredients being present in the proportions by volume of cement 20 to'35% of the whole, fire clay 20 to 35%, and sand in an amount not greater than three times the quantity of fire clay.

2. An underwater cementitious compound capable of use in an exposed manner under water, comprising an intimate mixture of sand, cement and fire clay present in the proportions of the whole by volume of cement 20 to 35%, fire clay 20 to 35% and a substantial amount of sand but less than 60% of the whole.

3. An underwater cementitious compound resistant to water erosion while setting, comprising an intimate mixture of sand, cement and fire clay, the fire clay and cement being present in the ratio of not less than 3 parts fire clay to 7 parts cement and not more than 5 parts fire clay to 5 parts cement, and the sand being present in substantial amount but less than 60% 01' the whole. the above proportions being by volume.

4. An underwater cementitious compound capable of use in an exposed manner under water without substantial erosion during setting, comprising an intimate mixture of the specified ingredients in about the following proportions by volume, 4 parts sand, 3 parts cement, and 2 parts fire clay.

5. An underwater cementitious compound capable of use in an exposed manner under water, comprising an intimate mixture of sand, cement and fire clay, the fire clay being present in the amount of about and the sand and cement in a ratio to each other of about 1 to 3.

6. A concrete mixture for use under water, comprising cement and fire clay together with an aggregate of sand and rock. the fire clay and cement being present in the ratio by volume or not less than 3 parts fire clay to 7 parts cement and not more than 5 parts fire clay to five parts cement, the sand being present in substantial amount but not exceeding in volume the combined volumes of the fire clay and cement.

JOHN B. ARPIN. 

